Clothes receptacle for washing machines



Feb. 21, 1950 A. H. GERHARD? RECEPTACLE FOR wAsHmG mex-xmas CLOTHES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed My 4, 1945 VNToR. l B

'lilla IIII Patented Feb. 2l, 1950 v UNITED` STATES PATENT oI-l-lcI-z-` Andrew H. Gerhardt, Skokie, Ill., assignor to Thor Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Application May 4, 1945, Serial No. 591,813

2 Claims. (Cl. 21o-76) This invention relates to improvements in centrifugal machines, such as laundering machines. More particularly, this invention is directed to centrifugal machines of the type having an upright imperforate receptacle having an upwardly and outwardly tapering side wall, mounted for rotation about an upright axis, and wherein the receptacle is adapted to contain solid material, such as clothes, together with a cleansing solution. In machines of this type, when the receptacle is rotated at a relatively high rate of speed, the major portion of the cleansing solution is separated from the solids by the action of centrifugal force.

Considerableldiiiiculty has heretofore been experienced, in machines of this general class, in obtaining uniform distribution of the solid material around the axis of rotation-of the receptacle. When the solid material is non-uniformly distributed, there is produced an out-of-balance o r oil-center load condition, which results in excessive and `undesired vibration of the entire machine, while the receptacle is rotating. To overcome this condition, certain types' of counterbalancing units have been provided, and one of the most effective arrangements consists in the provision of such a unit immediately. below the receptacle. It has been found, however, that while rotating the receptacle at a high rate of speed, the counterbalancing unit tends to effectively compensate for oli-center loads, but there is also a tendency for the solid material to move upwardly along the side walls of the receptacle, which creates an objectionable condition of dynamic imbalance.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved receptacle construction,`by virtue of which, the solid material 'is confined or limited in its vertical movement along the walls of the receptacle, incident to rotation thereof, tending to maintain a proper dynamic balance of the receptacle.

Another object isl to provide in a centrifugal I of circumferentially.spaced-apart apertures adjacent the upper end thereof, and provided with a baille ring mounted adjacent the wall of the receptacle, below said apertures, and in spaced apart relation -to the wall of the receptacle, so as to limit upward movement of the solid material along the side wall of the receptacle, while permitting the cleansing solution to travel freely in an upwardly direction along said side wall of the receptacle for discharge through vthe apertures, while the receptacle is rotating.

Other objectsand advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying gal machine, the upper portion being a true axial section, and the lower portion representing a staggered section, and provided with an improved centrifuging receptacle embodying the present invention. f

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional lview through the receptacle, taken substantially as indicatedv at line 2-2 on Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, axial section, through the receptacle, taken substantially 'as indicated at line 3-3 on Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section'through the sidewall of the receptacle, and taken subtsantially at the plane of the section, as indicated atline 3-3 on Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section taken as indicated at line 5-5 on Fig. 2.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is of the general type intended primarily for household use as a laundering ma'chinevfor performing a washing and extracting or drying operation upon clothes. The machine includes an external liquid collector receptacle ID,y havingits bottom formed with an offset portion, as indicated at I0, seated in nested relation upon a resilient gasket il, mounted upon the upper marginal edge of skirt I2. The lower end of the skirt terminates in an inwardly projecting neck I2, telescoped into the ilanged portion or a base member I 4,' and the latter being supported by three circumferentially spaced-apart feet I5. The liquid collector receptacle III, together with the skirt I2 and base I l,y are rigidly connected together and assembled in nested relation by a plurality of tie rods I8, as clearly seen in Fig. 1 of the drawings." 'l

Mounted within the liquid collectorl receptacle I Il, is a receptacle 20, in which clothes are adapted lto bewashed, and also subjected to a centrifus, gal extracting operation for effecting removal o! the major portion of free cleansing solution or liquid from the clothes. The receptacle is oi' circular contour, and the lateral or side wall thereof tapers in an outwardly and upwardly direction. and terminatesat its upper edge in a reversely bent marginal flange 2l. Adjacent the upper end of the side wall of the receptacle 20. is a' series oi.' circumferentially spaced-apart apertures 22, through which the cleansing solution in the receptacle may be discharged into the liquid collector receptacle I0, when the receptacle 20 is rotated. The receptacle 20 has rigidly connected to its bottom at the center thereof. by means of screws 23, an upstanding tubular sleeve 24, adapted to surround an upwardly extending tubular drive shaft 25, which is adapted to be rotated in one direction. Mounted concentrically within suitable bearings, not shown, within the drive shaft 25, is an oscillatable agitator shaft 26, terminating above the upper end of the sleeve 24, and provided at said upper end with a driving block 21on which is seated in driving relation, a vaned agitator element 28, adapted to be oscillated within the receptacle 20.

Mounted within the skirt portion I2, is a suitable drive mechanism, indicated generally at 3Q, adapted to be driven by an electric motor 8l, and by virtue of which thetubular drive shaft 25 and the agitator shaft 28, are adapted to be selectively driven. Said mechanism 30, together with the motor 3|, are supported on a iiexible suspension by means comprising three circumferentially spaced-apart iiexible straps 33, which in turn are connected to a supporting frame structure 34. Since said mechanism and manner of suspension constitutes no part ofthe present invention, it is not believed necessary to describe the same in detail. It is to be understood that -the liquid collector receptacle l!) is provided with a suitable outlet, not shown, operably` connected to a power driven pump, for eiectingf prompt removal from said collector receptacle of all liquid discharged from the centrifuging receptacle 20. The central area of thereceptacle I 0 is formed with an upwardly open neck I0", which provides clearance for and accommodation of the upstanding tubular portions B of the mechanism 3U, when the machine is functioning as a centrifugal extractor, and during which time the receptacle 20 may be caused to travel in an orbit, as represented in dot and dash outline at A, such as when the receptacle contains an outof-balante load, as represented at B.

The counter-balancing unit, indicated generally at 36, constitutes the subject matter of my co-pencling application, Serial No. 542,850', filed June 30', 1944, now Patent No. 2,420,592, May 13, 1947, and nodetailed description thereof, is herein believed necessary, other than to state that said unit tends to automatically compensate for a normal or average out-of-balance load condition within the receptacle 20, such as representedat B. During the time that the receptacle is rotated, said balancer unit 36 is frictionally supported upon a flange 38, which in turn is rigidly attached to the tubular drive s llaft 25. The ref ceptacle 2U is supportedfdirectly upon upstanding ribs 36e, formed on the unit 35, by virtue of which said .receptacle is frictiorially driven. If desired, obviously the receptacle may be driven directly from the tubular drive shaft 25.

The improved centrifuging receptacle embodying the present invention has its side wall formed with a plurality of upright, circumferentially spaced-apart, inwardly projecting ribs 40, which terminate at their upper ends below the series of apertures 22. Each of said ribs adjacent the upper end, is formed with a socket type of seat, as indicated at 42, in which is adapted to be supported an annular baille ring 44, as may be clearly seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The depth of the socket seat 42, with relation to the side wall proper of the receptacle, is such as to provide a narrow passageway 45, between the outer edge of the baille ring and the wall of the receptacle. The baille ring may be formed solid, perforate. or reticulated. I prefer, however, to employ a solid material ring in order to obtain adequate rigidity. As shown, the baille ring is formed so that when disposed in operative position, its main dat surface inclines in an inwardly and downwardly direction, as clearly seen in Figs. 3 and oi the drawings. The free ends of the ring, as indicated at 41, in Fig. 2 of the drawings, are interconnected by a flattened, tubular metallic sleeve 48. Adjacent said ends of th'e ring are a. pair of apertures 50, adapted to receive a pair of prongs of a suitable expander tool. It is to be understood that the ring, with the ends in disconnection relation, is first positioned in partial seated engagement in the sockets 42 of the ribs ill, and by means of a suitable expander tool, engaging the apertures 50, the baffle ring is expanded and the ends of the rings are forced apart sufciently, so as to permit one of the ends, upon release of pressure on the tool, to extend into one end of the sleeve 48, it being understood that the lopposite end of the sleeve is firmly mounted on the other end of said' ring. Such expanding movement of the ring is permitted by the space defined by the passages 45. By virtue of this'arrangement, when the ring is finally assembled, it becomes seated inv a relatively rigid manner in the sockets 42. The baiile ring, when the receptacle 20 is rotating in the process of centrifugally extracting the liquid cleansing solution from thel clothes, serves to limit the extent of upward movement of the solid material or clothes along the side wall of the receptacle, while at the same time permitting the liquid cleansing solution to f Yiiow freely, in an upwardly direction, through the passages d5, for discharging through the apertures 22, intofthe collector receptacle lil. Thus|` by virtue of the baile ring, the clothes are conned so as to preclude the possibility of covering the apertures 22, which would impair and interfere with `the free removal of the liquid cleans-y ing solution from Within the receptacle during the extracting operation. f

Another important advantage flowing from the provision of the baffle ring is that it tends to coniine the solid material to some extent, in close proximity to the plane of operation of the counter-balancing unit 36, and thereby tends to assist in maintaining aproper dynamic balance of the receptacle and'its load. It will be apparent that the greater the distance that the load is permitted to move, in the direction away from the plane of counter-balance, the greater is the 'tendency for the receptacle to acquire a nondynamic condition of balance. Hence, by limiting the,up ward movement of the clothes during the extracting operation, thel matter of obtaining proper balance, even when the clothes are distributed non-uniformly, is attained Within practical operating limits. g

Although I have herein shown and described a preferred embodinnantv of my invention, manifestly it is capable of modification and rearrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as limiting this invention to the precise embodiment herein disclosed, except as I may be so limited by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a centrifugal laundering machine, the combination of an upright driving shaft, an upwardly open receptacle of circular cross-section mounted on and adapted to be driven by said shaft, the side wall of said receptacle tapering in an upwardly and outwardly direction; the upper portion of the side wall of the receptacle being formed with a series of circumferentially spaced-apart apertures through which liquid from the receptacle is caused to be discharged incident to rotation of the receptacle. said side wall of the receptacle. below said series of apertures, being formed with a plurality of inwardly projecting sockets, and an annular baille seated in said sockets, and disposed in spaced-apart relation to said side wall of the receptacle, whereby y the clothes in the receptacle is limited in upward movement in the receptacle and precluded from covering said apertures while the receptacle is rotating.

2. In a centrifugal laundering machine, the combination of an upright driving shaft, an upwardly open receptacle of circular cross-section mounted on and adapted to be driven by said shaft, the side wall of said receptacle tapering in an upwardly and outwardly direction; the upper portion of the side wall of the receptacle being formed with a series of circumferentially spaced-apart apertures through which liquid from the receptacle is caused to be discharged incident to rotation of the receptacle, the side wall of the receptacle being formed with a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart upright, inwardly projecting ribs, sockets formed in said ribs a substantial distance below said apertures. and an annular baille member seated in said sockets in spaced relation to the wall of the receptacle, whereby clothes in the receptacle is limited in upward movement adjacent the wall of the receptacle and precluded from covering said apertures while the receptacle is rotating. ANDREW H. GERHARDT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,394,743 La Duke Oct. 25, 1921 1,480,646 Waller Jan. 15, 1924 1,553,525 Erickson et al Sept. 15, 1925 1,754,252 Altorfer Apr. 15, 1930 2,361,266 Clark Oct. 24, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 397,085 Great Britain Aug. 17,' 1933 

